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QUILTING Striplate Piecing Debra Wagner is one of those folks who combine a great design sense with a passion for precision. The combination has catapulted her to the front ranks of quilters working in traditional styles. She's won first place three times at the American QUilter's Society's show, which is all the more striking in that stronghold of handworkers, since she works entirely by machine. Fortunately, she's also a generous, clearheaded teacher, as her most recent book, Striplate Piecing (American Quilter's Society, PO Box 3290, Paducah, cover, $24.95; 168 pp.) attests. KY COMBO-ELECTRIC SEWING CENTER OAK • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 86 Solid Oak Doors Oak Veneer Cabinet Quiet Electric Lift Melamine, Mar-resistant Sewing Surface Hinged Leaves Create Large Working Surface Drop Leaf Cutting Table Two Large Drawers Utensil and Notion Bins Easy-roll Lockable Casters Storage for Insert Roll-out Storage Shelf for Serger Open Front Area for Bobbin and Knees Lever Access Lockable (Child Safety) Full Length Piano Hinges and Support Caster on Large Door Swing Up Working Table for Serger with Support (Stores on Door) Sturdy Construction with Steel Connectors For more information call: 1-800-882·8845 THREADS 3075 42002-3290; 1994; hardWagner's thesis is that you can use strip piecing (usually associated with rectangular and diamondshaped pieces) to simplify the piecing of many complex circular designs as well. Even with her ex- Horn of America haustive descriptions, excellent illustrations, and numerous examples (with patterns), the process is not for the faint of heart. But the book is full of clever ideas that you could apply to all kinds of machine piecing, such as working on heavily starched fabrics for greater accuracy and control, and using custom-made rubber stamps as a quick alternative to templates. Beginners will be better served by Wagner's earlier book Teach Yourself Machine Piecing and Quilting (Chilton, 1992), but for the ambitious quilter, this new book is a wonderful resource. David Page Coffin is an associate editor of Threads.